ISL: Bengaluru FC starts favourite against Mumbai City FC with semifinal spot on the line

Bengaluru FC starts favourite against Mumbai City FC with semifinal spot on the line

Two years after the infamous walkout by Kerala Blasters, the Sree Kanteerava Stadium will play host to another single-legged playoff with Bengaluru FC welcoming Mumbai City FC on Saturday.

At stake is a place in the ISL semifinal against FC Goa, and at least on paper, host BFC seems better equipped to bag that. Forward Jorge Pereyra Diaz is back after a two-month layoff; goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is fresh after not being part of the India set-up against Maldives and Bangladesh, and defender Aleksandar Jovanovic will hope to make his final ISL season before retirement memorable.

The attacking trio of Alberto Noguera, Edgar Mendez and Ryan Williams will hope to work its magic even as talisman Sunil Chhetri will be eager for his 40-year-old body to recover in time after nearly 170 minutes of international football in a week.

Mumbai, on the other hand, is expected to have key personnel out. Defender Tiri is unlikely to play; midfielder Brandon Fernandes got injured against Maldives and Lallianzuala Chhangte missed all of the action in the international window. Much will depend on striker Nikolaos Karelis, who has scored 10 goals.

However, the fact that Mumbai has won more on the road this season than at home can provide confidence. It even beat BFC – albeit a weakened one – in their previous encounter, a 2-0 victory earlier this month that helped Petr Kratky’s men sneak into the playoffs.

But the last time BFC left Kanteerava disappointed after an ISL knockout match was the final against Chennaiyin FC in 2018. To protect this record can be motivation enough.